Molokai’s COVID cases on the rise
Senator urges caution amid increase; Maui Memorial treating seven patients
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The Maui News
With Molokai seeing 64 new cases of COVID-19 in the past two weeks, Sen. Lynn DeCoite urged residents to take precautions moving forward.
The island reported 25 new cases on Tuesday, an unusual single-day spike for a community that has seen relatively low case counts throughout the pandemic.
"Given the growing number of cases on Molokai, I urge residents to take proper precautions against COVID-19," said DeCoite, who represents East and Upcountry Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe. "Please continue to social distance, avoid large gatherings, wash your hands and wear a mask when with people outside of your immediate household. If you are not yet vaccinated or boosted, please do so as soon as possible."
Locations on island offering COVID testing include Lanikeha Community Center, Molokai Community Health Center, Molokai General Hospital and Molokai Drugs. Na Pu'uwai, Molokai Community Health Center and Molokai General Hospital also offer vaccination appointments, DeCoite said.
In the past week, DeCoite partnered with the National Kidney Foundation Hawaii to provide more than 700 testing kits for Molokai residents, including 300 that were flown in over the holiday weekend, a Senate news release said.
State, county and health officials have been asking residents to get vaccinated and stay vigilant as case counts have climbed amid the spread of the omicron variant. Hawaii hit a single-day record of 2,205 cases on Sunday, and Maui County's average daily case counts have gone from 17.3 on Dec. 13 to 93 on Tuesday, Department of Health data show.
Maui Health, which operates Maui Memorial Medical Center, said Monday that the hospital was caring for seven COVID-19 patients, with two in the intensive care unit and none on a ventilator.
Maui Health emphasized that its hospitals are not community COVID-19 testing sites and that residents should not access the Emergency Department for testing. Locations for testing can be found through county and state resources such as mauinui strong.info and hawaiicovid19.com.
People experiencing COVID-related symptoms should get tested, quarantine if necessary and only access the Emergency Department for critical, emergency care, Maui Health said. For a list of symptoms requiring emergency care, visit mauihealth.org/seekRcare.
Maui Memorial is currently the only site on island providing monoclonal antibody therapy treatment, and Maui Health urged people to not seek out the treatment at the emergency room without an appointment, which can be requested at mauihealth.org/mab.
The hospital also continues to operate a vaccine clinic in the main lobby from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday through January. The vaccine clinic will be closed on Friday, New Year's Eve. No appointment is needed, and walk-ins are welcome. For more information, visit mauihealth.org/covidvaccine.